The Heart Cross
by Neko.Loving.Kurisi
Summary: This is a story about Al and Artie getting engaged while Al's good friend Mattie has feelings for him. Dedicated to my best friend Lola
1. Chapter 1

Alfred and Arthur had been together for 4 and a half years and Alfred was ready to take the next step - marriage. He knew he loved him and was just days away from getting down on one knee and asking Arthur to marry him, but he had no ring. Alfred decided he would ask his good friend, Matthew, to help him pick out the perfect ring. He was also going to ask him to be his best man, but not until after he proposed to Arthur.

It was time to sneak away from Arthur and give Matthew a call, asking him to meet up for coffee because he needed to ask a favor.

"Hello?" Matthew answered quietly.

"Hey man! Look, I need you to do me a favor."  
"Oh? What is it?"

"I can't tell you that just yet," he lowered his voice, "I don't want Arthur to hear me, so I need you to meet up with me for like a coffee or something first. Or a burger, but you don't seem to like those too much." He laughed.

"Alright, when do you want to meet up? I know a small coffee shop not far from my house, maybe we could go there."

"Yeah, sure let's go there! Do you think you can meet me now though? I don't want to be gone for too long, Arthur might get suspicious."

"Oh, okay, I'm on my way. Bye." Matthew said as he hung up the phone.

Alfred was about to walk out of the door as he kissed Arthur goodbye. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Artie. Love you!" he said, smiling, and left.

When he got to the small coffee shop near Matthew's house, he went up to the counter and bought two coffees. One for himself and another for his quiet friend, since he knew he was too timid to even go up to the clerk and get one. Every time they would get coffee Alfred would get him one, so he knew just how he liked it.

After he bought the coffee, he searched the shop for the familiar face of his friend. When he spotted him, he quickly walked up to his table and set the coffees down, saying, "I'm gonna do it!"

This confused Matthew, so he took a sip of his coffee and quietly said, "What are you going to do? Sit down, please don't make a scene.."

"Oh yeah, sorry dude," he said as he took his seat, continuing his conversation more quietly. "I'm finally going to ask Arthur to marry me!"

This shocked Matthew, and kind of hurt him at the same time. He was happy for Alfred, but, without Alfred's knowledge, he had feelings for him. He always tried to ignore them, but it didn't always work. Alfred was going to ask Arthur to marry him. Oh, he wished he were him. He wished Al would ask _him_ to marry him, not Arthur.

Forcing a smile onto his face, Matthew replied. "Congratulations, I'm sure you two will be very happy together."

"Thanks! But I need your help with it. I have to pick out a ring for the proposal and you're the first person I thought of to help me choose it. Will you come with me to the jewelry store to find the perfect ring?"

'_He seems so happy..' _Matthew thought to himself, _'Why can't I be the one making him this happy...? __Well, I guess helping him find the ring could make him happy.._'

Wearing a fake smile, Matthew said, "Sure, I'll help you find a ring."

"Great!" he picked up his coffee and stood up, "Let's go now!"

"Okay.." he said as he stood up and followed Alfred out of the door.

When they got to the jeweler, Alfred rushed inside while Matthew slowly walked behind him. They walked up to the glass cases with rings inside of them and Alfred went straight to the ones with huge diamonds. Matthew needed to remind him that, although diamonds are nice, he's shopping for a man, not a woman, and Arthur probably wouldn't want to wear a ring with a giant diamond on it.

While Alfred was on one side of the store looking women's rings for som reason, Matthew was on the other looking at men's rings. Matthew had found the _perfect_ wedding band. He asked the jeweler to get it out of the case for a moment and called Alfred over to look at it.

"Man this is great!" Alfred said.

"I know.." Matthew said quietly, then whispered, "I would want a ring like that if you would propose to me.."

"What's that? I couldn't hear you."  
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing, I was just talking to myself." Matthew responded, slightly blushing. He didn't think he said that out loud. It's not like anyone ever hears him anyway, so he unconsciously thought out loud pretty often, but no one ever noticed.

Alfred decided to pick that ring to propose to Artie with, and thanked Matthew multiple times on their walk back to their cars at the coffee shop.

"You have no idea how much this means to me, dude. Seriously, thanks! I couldn't have found a better ring without you."  
"You couldn't have found a _guys _ring without me!" Matthew replied, laughing.

"I didn't know what I was looking for okay!" Al laughed, "I haven't been thinking of what ring I would want if someone was gonna ask me to marry them! How'd you think to pick this one, anyway? Do you have a boyfriend you aren't telling me about?" he teased.

"No, it's not that.." Matthew replied quietly, looking down.

"Then why'd you pick it?" Alfred replied, confused.

"Well, I've been fantasizing a lot about if this one guy would propose to me.. But, we're just friends, it's hopeless." he blushed and looked back up at Al.

"I'm sure it's not _hopeless_! Unless, is he taken?"

"Yeah.. For a while now he's been taken and I'm just sitting here watching him be happy with some other guy."  
"Aw, man I'm sorry," he hugged him, "What's his name?"

He hugged him back, then replied saying, "It's... You don't know him."

"You sure?"

"Yeah.." he said quietly, "No..."  
"Huh? Dude, you're confusing me."

"You know him.. better than anyone, actually. But, I can't tell you who it is..." he said as they got to their cars.

"Why can't you tell me?" Alfred asked, standing next to Matt's car as he opened the door and got in.  
"Because.. It's you..." Matthew said quietly, furiously blushing as he slammed his door shut, started his car, and left Alfred, who was standing in the parking lot in shock.

'_Oh my god.._' he thought, '_It's.. me?_'


	2. Chapter 2

Two days had passed since Matthew told Alfred how he felt about him and he still hadn't heard from him. He didn't know if he had proposed to Artie yet, or even if he really would. He didn't know if Alfred even felt bad for not feeling the same way, _or even if he did,_ and for being with Arthur. He didn't know anything because of how quickly he ran away and it was _killing_ him.

Matthew wasn't the type to call or text someone first, but he couldn't stand it anymore. He needed to talk to Alfred.

"Hey..." he texted him, thinking he would take an hour or so to reply.

"Mattie! :3" he replied quickly.

"Hi Al.. I need to ask you something."

"What is it bro? :o"

"You don't think of me any differently now that you know how I feel about you... Do you?" he asked, hoping he would say no but partially thinking that he was creeped out by him.

"Nah, man, it's alright! :) Actually, I was wondering if maybe you would want to hang out with me later on today?" he replied. _'Oh my god,' _Matthew thought to himself as he read and re-read the text message, _'He wants to see me...'_

"I'd like that. When and where? (:" he responded, about fifteen minutes late.

"Be ready in ten minutes, I'm picking you up. :D"

"Where are you taking me?"  
"That's a secret. Go get ready, I'll be there soon. :)"

"Okay, bye. :D" Matthew replied quickly.

He was so excited. Not only was he going to see Alfred, but he was picking him up and surprising him about where he would be taking him. Right then, Mattie didn't care if Al had a boyfriend, or possibly a fiancee, he was just happy that he was able to see him.

Matthew quickly got dressed and brushed his teeth. Not even a minute after he slipped his red sweater over his head, he heard a knock on the door. He grabbed his phone and put it in his pocket as he ran to the door. Once he opened it, he saw a smiling American at his doorstep waiting for him.

"Hey Mattie!" Al said as he hugged him, "You look so cute! I mean, uh... Ready to go?"  
Matthew smiled, blushing slightly, and replied, "Yeah," quietly as he walked with Alfred to his car.

Mattie sat in the passenger's seat of Al's car car silently as they drove through town. It didn't take long for him to realize that they were leaving town and it made him nervous. He had never been out of town with Alfred before and was now beginning to wonder what sort of plan he had.

"Um... Al?" Matthew said, looking over at Al, who was smiling as he drove.

"Yeah, Mattie?" he replied, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Where exactly are you taking me?" he asked quietly.

Alfred laughed and responded with, "It's a secret~."

"But we're leaving town.. Can't you give me a little hint as to where we're going?" he asked as the car came to a stop light.

Alfred smiled at him cutely, and asked, "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do!" Matthew replied, shocked at Al's sudden doubt of his trust.

"Then just sit back and enjoy the ride, we're almost there." he said as he looked back at the road and continued to drive.

Matthew turned to look out of the window quietly. It was dark outside, but it looked pretty. The stars were out and the moon was full. He gently placed his hand on the window as he stared through it at the beautiful sky, thinking. He was thinking about the fact that Alfred was taken. He had to take him out of town to spend time with him and he couldn't even go over to Al's house anymore because anything they had together, if there even was anything, would have to be kept secret. Anything that they had together wouldn't even be real, he thought, because if they had to hide it, was it even worth hiding?

Alfred caught Mattie staring out of the window with what seemed like amazement in his eyes. He was so lost in thought that he hadn't even realized the catr had stopped. Alfred reached his hand over and grabbed Matthew's shoulder. He jumped and turned around, blushing because he was embarrassed. He smiled and apologized for staring into space, then Alfred got out of the car and opened Matthew's door. Mattie stepped out and Al took his hand. Blushing, Mattie locked their fingers together as Al pulled him somewhere behind some bushes.

They were at a pier in front of a big lake. The way the full moon shined on the water was breathtakingly beautiful. There was a blanket laid out on the pier for them. As much as Matthew wanted to feel special because of Al's successful attempt at a romantic scene just for him, he couldn't. He couldn't accept that Alfred was with Arthur, yet he was doing this for him. He couldn't stand the fact that Alfred was with Artie, yet he was standing there under the stars in the most romantic picture he could think of with another man. Even if that man was Matthew himself, it just wasn't right.

_'Alfred's not this type of guy..'_ he thought, _'he wouldn't be doing this for someone else..'_

As they approached the blanket on the pier, Matthew pulled his hand out of Alfred's.

"What's wrong?" Alfred asked, "Isn't this what you wanted?"

"Did you do it?" Matthew asked, looking at the ground.

"Did I do what?"  
"Did you propose to him?" Matt asked, looking back up at Alfred, giving him a cold look.

"No," Alfred said, "I haven't proposed yet." He lowered his voice as he said the "yet."

"Yet... So you're going to?"

"Yes... I love him, I'm gonna marry him," he said, now looking at the ground.

"Then why did you take me here? You're going to ask _Arthur _to marry you, not _me_, so why bother? Did you two get into a fight or something? I don't get it."

"There was no fight, I just.. I wanted to make you happy. I wanted to be your hero, not your villain. I don't want to be the one making you sad, I want to be the one cheering you up, making you smile. When we were talking the other day about the guy you had fantasized about asking to marry you and I found out it was me, I thought that, even though I can't ask you to marry me, the least I could do is acknowledge your feelings and make you happy. I'm sorry Mattie..."

"It's... It's okay, Al..." Matthew replied, blushing and looking at the ground.

"Good," Alfred said, walking up to the Canadian.

Al gently put his index finger under Matt's chin and lifted his face up so that he could see his beautiful purple-ish blue eyes. "Smile," he whispered. Matthew's blush deepened as the tips of his mouth lifted slightly. "You have such a cute little smile... Especially with that blush," he chuckled as he softly rubbed his thumb across Mattie's cheek.

Al slowly began to lean in for a kiss. As he approached Matthew's face, he closed his eyes, only to have them open right back up again a moment later, startled by his cellphone ringing. He jumped back from Matthew quickly and pulled his phone out of his pocket. _It was Arthur. _He turned around and answered it.

"Hello?"  
"Alfred, where the bloody hell are you?!"

"I-I'm out with an old friend, sorry man, I'll be home soon."

"Okay, good. Stop going out so late without telling me where you are first, though. You worry my sometimes.."  
"Okay, I will."  
"Good. I love you, Al."  
"Love you too."  
"Bye."  
"See you when I get home."

Alfred hung up and turned back around, giving Matthew an apologetic look. "I'm sorry..." Al said, walking back towards him as he put his phone back in his pocket.

"No, i-it's fine... He is your boyfriend, after all," Matthew replied, quietly, staring down at the ground. "Just take me home, please. I want to go home." He quickly walked up to the bushes, ducked under them, and got in the car.

Alfred went through the bushes as well and got into the driver's side of the car. "I'm sorry..." he said again as he put the key in the ignition and started the car.

"Don't be, Al. You tried to make me happy in a way that you knew you weren't capable of doing since you're with Arthur. Please, just don't make this any worse... Don't make it any harder and just take me home... And, when you get home, tell Artie that you love him again, because you do. You love him, not me, and there's nothing you or I can ever do to change that. Propose to him like you were going to before you found out my feelings for you. Just act like nothing ever happened, like you never found out that I want to be with you. You don't always have to be everyone's hero, Al... Don't end up ruining a perfectly good relationship with Arthur just to make me happy. It's not worth it."

Alfred stared Matthew with a look of awe on his face. "I don't know how they do it," he said, starting to drive.

"Who? Do what?" Matthew asked, confused.

"Everyone forgets you. Everyone forgets who you are. Everyone forgets your name. No one knows when you're around and I don't know how. They act like your invisible, but you're clearly there. I can't be the only one who sees you. Am I? 'Cause I feel like I am. And I feel like I'm responsible for keeping you happy since no one else will. No one else even knows you, I'm all you've got, aren't I?"  
"No. Well... Maybe.. Okay, yes..."

"Then why shouldn't I be your hero?"  
"I... I don't know..."

"Then let me take you out on one more date before you decide it's such a terrible idea, okay?"

"O-okay... One date.." Matthew replied, blushing furiously.

"Alright!" Alfred practically jumped in his seat.

"But it better be romantic!" Matthew said, before Alfred could get too excited.

"Trust me, you'll love it. I've already got it all planned out!"

"Okay.." Matt replied quietly.

When Alfred pulled into Matt's driveway, he noticed him asleep, leaning his head on the window. He smiled and thought to himself, _'He looks like a little angel when he sleeps...'_ Al couldn't help but to unbuckle and reach over to run his fingers through Matthews soft blonde hair. He slid the hair that had fallen in his face while he was asleep to the side of his face and tucked it behind his ear so that he could get a better look at him. This woke Mattie up and he slowly opened his eyes to see Alfred hovering above him.

"Good morning sunshine~." Alfred said, smiling at Matthew, causing him to blush madly.  
"H-how long have I been asleep? And why were you watching me sleep like that?" Matthew asked as he sat upright and fixed himself.  
"Just for about half the drive, I think, but I was just waking you up because we're at your house," Al chuckled.  
"O-oh... Well, um... Th-thank you for the ride, Al," he said, still blushing.  
"No prob, mam! C'mon, I'll walk you to your door," Al replied, getting out of the door to open the passenger's side door for Matthew.

He walked him up to the door and gave him a hug. "Get some sleep, okay?" Alfred said, "You seem pretty tired." Matthew smiled and replied with, "I'll lay down once I get inside."  
"Good." Al said, "So, Friday night at around 8:30, be ready in a nice suit, okay?"  
"A suit?" Matt asked.  
"Yeah! You want a romantic date, right? Well, what's more romantic than the best, fanciest French restaurant around?"  
"Y-you're taking me there?" Matthew asked, surprised.  
"Yeah! Why not?"  
"It's a little expensive... Won't Arthur find out?"  
"Nice dinners aren't the only things that are expensive, so are family trips - - Oh! That reminds me, I'm gonna have to stay the night with you afterward, if you're okay with it." He smiled.  
"Yeah, of course, I don't mind. You're welcome here any time!" Matthew smiled at Al, "But I'm gonna go inside and head to bed now, I'm exhausted."  
"Alright! Night, bro!" Alfred said, then kissed Matt's cheek.

"Goodnight..." Matthew replied, gently holding the spot on his cheek that Alfred had just kissed and opened the door with the other.

As Alfred was driving home, he was thinking about the speech that Matthew gave him. He told him to propose to Arthur. _'I have the ring...'_ he thought, _'so, why not? I do love him...'_

He pulled into his driveway and sat in his car for a few minutes, unsure of what he would do when he got inside. He pulled the keys out of the ignition and just held them, wondering if proposing was the right thing to do. As he was thinking he should get out of the car and just forget about the proposal, he was startled by a knock on his window. He jumped, dropping his keys to the floor mat. Before he was going to grab them, he looked out of the window to see Arthur standing there with an angry look on his face.

Alfred opened the door and got out of the car, only to hear, "What took you so long, you git?! Where the bloody hell were you?! You had me worried sick! Who were you with?! And why have you been gone so much lately?!" _'Yup,'_ he thought, _'he's pissed. But I know how to fix this...'_

He told him to go inside, he would be in there to explain everything once he found his keys. When Arthur realized that Al had already turned his back on him to look for his keys in the dark, he decided to listen and go inside. The second Al noticed that Artie was inside, he already had his keys and quickly opened the glove compartment. He took the little black box that he was keeping in it out and opened it, taking another look at the ring before closing it back up and putting it in the inside pocket of his jacket, then went inside with a smile on his face.

"Why the bloody hell are you so happy?" Arthur asked as Al walked in the door.  
"The same reason I've been gone so much." Alfred replied.  
"And why is that?" He folded his arms across his chest.  
"Well, I've spent a lot of time with Matthew lately so he could- -"  
"Who?"  
"An old friend," Al chuckled, "Anyway, me and him were spending a lot of time at the jewelry store," he pulled the box out of his pocket, causing Artie to put a hand over his mouth and start blushing, "trying to find the perfect ring. Well, we also went out for some burgers too, but that's not the point." Al slowly started walking toward the chair Arthur was sitting on in the kitchen, "I have loved you for four and a  
half years, Arthur, and that's a pretty long time. Now I cant get enough of you. You're my dream guy, even if you cant cook, you're still the best guy I know..." he chuckled slightly as he stopped walking in front of Arthur's chair, his smile never leaving his face. "So, Arthur..." he got down on one knee and opened the box, holding it out to the blushing, smiling, and even kind of crying British man, "Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Arthur nodded, so overwhelmed with happiness that he couldn't even speak, and put his hand out for Al to put the ring on his finger. Once he was wearing the ring, Alfred pulled Arthur into a long, passionate kiss. _'He's the one I love..'_ Al thought to himself, _'I love him with all... __most__ of my heart, and I'm going to marry him.'_

That night, as soon as he got a chance, Arthur grabbed his phone and texted his French "frenemy," Francis. It read, "You were right! He proposed! How did you know he would? I'm so happy!"  
"Congratulations, mon amour! I just had a feeling. I'm a genius when it comes to love, remember? I'm happy for you."  
"Thanks! And don't fool yourself, you may have been right but you're still just a bloody frog!"  
"Whatever you say, chéri~. But I'm going to sleep now, it's getting late. Bonsior!"  
"Goodnight, frog."


End file.
